Integration of Information From Context and Word Elements in Interpreting Novel Kanji Compounds

Abstract

S This study examines the degree to which English‐speaking students learning Japanese utilize information from word elements and contextual clues in interpreting novel kanji compounds (i.e., words consisting of two or more Chinese characters). Fifty‐nine college students inferred the meanings of novel compounds consisting of familiar characters under three conditions (i.e., words in isolation, contextual clues only, and both). Students were most likely to obtain correct answers when both types of clues were available, demonstrating their ability to combine information from multiple sources to interpret unfamiliar words. Furthermore, use of kanji clues and context use are not correlated, and proficiency correlates with context use, but not with kanji use. Thus, morphological analysis is an independent strategy from guessing word meanings from context. Este estudio examina el grado en el que estudiantes hablantes de inglés que aprenden japonés utilizan la información sobre los elementos de la palabra y las pistas contextuales en la interpretación de compuestos nuevos en kanji (i.e., palabras consistentes en dos o más caracteres chinos). Cincuenta y nueve estudiantes universitarios infirieron los significados de compuestos nuevos formados por caracteres familiares en tres condiciones (i.e., palabras aisladas, sólo pistas contextuales y ambas). Los estudiantes obtuvieron más respuestas correctas cuando disponían de ambos tipos de pistas, demostrando la habilidad de combinar información de varias fuentes para interpretar palabras desconocidas. Más aún, el uso de pistas kanji y del contexto no están correlacionados y la habilidad correlaciona con el uso del contexto, pero no con el uso de pistas kanji. Por lo tanto, el análisis morfológico es una estrategia independiente de la predicción de los significados de las palabras a partir del contexto. Diese studie untersucht den Grad mit welchem Englisch sprechende Studenten, welche Japanisch lernen, Informationen aus Wort‐Elementen gebrauchen und textinhaltliche Hinweise bei der Auslegung neuerer Kanji Komponenten (d.h. Worte bestehend aus zwei oder mehr chinesischen Schriftzeichen) verwerten. Neunundfünfzig College‐Studenten machten Vorschläge zur Bedeutung neuer Komponenten, welche aus vertrauten Schriftzeichen ‐ eingeteilt nach drei Bedingungen ‐ bestanden (d.h. isoliert stehende Worte, nur Inhaltshinweise, und beides zusammen). Die Studenten gewannen die richtigen Antworten am besten, wenn sie über beide Arten von Hinweisen verfügten, und dabei demonstrierten sie ihre Fähigkeit, Informationen aus einer Vielzahl von Quellen zu kombinieren, um ungewohnte Worte zu interpretieren. Ferner ist die Benutzung von Kanji‐Hinweisen und der Gebrauch von Kontext ohne Bezug zueinander, und die Fertigkeit hängt ausschließlich von Gebrauch und Verstehen des Textzusammenhanges ab, nicht jedoch mit dem Kanji Gebrauch. Folglich ist die morphologische Analyse eine in sich unabhängige Strategie, die sich vom Erraten der Bedeutung von Wörtern aus dem Zusammenhang absetzt. Cette étude...

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